Lesson 7.5 · 70 minFirst Google Search campaign

What you will have

A Search campaign is approved and running within the budget cap and stop rule from docs/ads-plan.md, and a click from it arrives on the site carrying the campaign's UTM values.

Video

The video for this lesson is not recorded yet.

Prompts used in this lesson

Part 3 — Keywords, match types and negatives

Purpose: prepare keyword ideas for my first Google Search campaign.

Context: read docs/brief.md and docs/content.md for the business, services, city and
customers. Read docs/ads-plan.md for my affordable cost per click.

Produce docs/ads/google-keywords.md with:
- 2 or 3 ad group themes, each matching a service we actually offer;
- for each theme, 8 to 12 phrases a person ready to hire would type, in the words a
  customer uses;
- a list of negative keywords: words that signal the searcher is not a customer (for
  example job seekers, do-it-yourself, free, training) - adapt to this business;
- questions for me about anything you are unsure of.

Constraints: do not state or estimate search volumes, costs per click or competition
- you cannot know them; I will take those from Google's Keyword Planner. No brand
names of competitors.

Done when: the file exists and every phrase fits a service listed in docs/content.md.

Part 4 — Writing the ads with Claude

Purpose: draft responsive search ads for each ad group in docs/ads/google-keywords.md.

Context: read docs/content.md for our real offer, proof and guarantees.

For each ad group write to docs/ads/google-ads-copy.md: 12 headlines (max 30
characters each) and 4 descriptions (max 90 characters each). Include the main
keyword theme in several headlines, the city, one clear call to action ("Get a free
quote"), and concrete facts from docs/content.md.

Constraints: use only claims that appear in docs/content.md - no invented prices,
ratings, awards, numbers of customers or guarantees. No superlatives we cannot prove
("best", "#1"). No excessive capitals or punctuation tricks. Show the character
count beside every line and re-count before reporting; fix any line over the limit.

Done when: every line is within its limit and each claim cites the line in
docs/content.md that supports it.

Do along

Pause the video where told and do each step on your own project.

1. After Part 1, pause: read your budget, target and stop rule aloud from docs/ads-plan.md. Work out the daily amount and end date.
2. After Part 3, pause: run the keyword prompt; check the phrases in Keyword Planner against your affordable click; drop what does not fit.
3. After Part 4, pause: run the ad copy prompt; remove anything you cannot prove.
4. After Part 5, pause: build the campaign with the settings from Part 5, substituting your location, language and URL. Do not publish yet.
5. After Part 6, pause: set the end date and calendar reminders. Do the pre-publish read-back. Publish.
6. After Part 7: open the final URL copied from the ad and submit a test lead; mark it as a test. Approval and the first real click may come a day or two later.
7. Add a "Google Search" section to docs/ads-plan.md: launch date, daily budget, end date, review days. Commit and push.

Check your work

1. Campaign status is eligible/active and at least one ad is approved.
2. Daily budget and end date in Google Ads equal the figures in docs/ads-plan.md.
3. Open the final URL copied from the ad: the page loads; a test lead shows utm_source=google, utm_medium=cpc, utm_campaign=quote-search in the CRM. Mark it as a test lead.
4. After the first real click: Google Ads shows at least one click, and GA4 shows a google / cpc session with the campaign name.

Common problems

• Ad disapproved → open the policy reason. Give Claude the exact text and ask for a compliant rewrite using only facts from docs/content.md.
• Approved but no impressions → bids below what the auction needs, very narrow keywords, or a tiny area. Check each keyword's status column; compare your bid limit with Keyword Planner's range. If the affordable click is simply too low, that is a finding for the plan, not a reason to raise it silently.
• Spend is faster than expected → a Display or partners box was left ticked, or broad match is in use. Check networks and the search terms report.
• Clicks arrive without UTM values → the final URL was edited or a redirect strips parameters. Open the URL from the ad and watch the address bar.

Homework

About 30 minutes on your first review day. It spends nothing beyond the budget this lesson set and changes nothing in Google Ads: no budget increase, no extra campaign, no edits to the live one. Your stop rule still applies as written.

1. First review entry. Copy spend and clicks from Google Ads and count the campaign's leads in the CRM. Deliverable: a dated row under "Google Search" in docs/ads-plan.md with spend, clicks, leads and cost per lead so far. Done when: the row ends with one sentence saying whether the stop rule's trigger is met.
2. Search terms list. Open the search terms report and judge every search that brought a click: customer or not. Deliverable: a dated "Negative candidates" list in docs/ads/google-keywords.md. Done when: each search is judged, or the file says "no data yet". Write the list only; do not edit the campaign as homework.
3. Read the competition. Search three of your keywords as a customer would. Do not click any ad. Deliverable: under "What others promise" in the same file, one line per search on what the other ads offer, and one sentence on what your ad says that theirs do not. Done when: three searches are recorded.

If a task changed files in the project, commit and push without a tag: git add -A, git commit -m "Homework 7.5", git push.

Save your work

git add -A
git commit -m "Lesson 7.5: Google Search campaign keywords, copy and launch notes"
git push